Fayetteville State University
DigitalCommons@Fayetteville State University
Faculty Working Papers from the School of
Education
School of Education
Spring 2011
Teaching Outside One’s Comfort Zone: Helping
Diverse Millennials Succeed
Miriam Chitiga
Fayetteville State University, [email protected]
Patrica Chogugudza
Langston University
Tinotenda Chitiga
University of Chicago
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Chitiga, Miriam; Chogugudza, Patrica; and Chitiga, Tinotenda, "Teaching Outside One’s Comfort Zone: Helping Diverse Millennials
Succeed" (2011). Faculty Working Papers from the School of Education. Paper 23.
http://digitalcommons.uncfsu.edu/soe_faculty_wp/23
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T EACHING O UTSIDE O NE ’S C OMFORT Z ONE :
H ELPING D IVERSE M ILLENNIALS S UCCEED
Miriam Chitiga
Fayetteville State University
Patricia Chogugudza
Langston University
Tinotenda Chitiga
University of Chicago
fully teach diverse students to achieve their
academic goals. (Kunjufu, (2002), Sleeter and
Grant (2009), Pitre (2011), Banks, (2008)
Mlaren (2007), Freire (2010)). Because of the
pivotal role teachers play in student success,
proponents of multicultural education focus
mostly on key systems of social stratification,
especially race, class, gender, national origin,
sexual orientation, linguistic difference, and
geographical location, with more scholars now
recognizing the impact of the intersecting
diversity categories on education, (See for
example: Anderson (1995), Hill Collins (2000)
hooks (1984) Weber (2010), Sleeter and Grant
(1999), Ornstein and Levine (2008)).
Abstract: This paper discusses some ways educators
may utilize their knowledge of generational characteristics and differences to enhance their teaching
and inter-generational relationships with Millennials. It cautions against over- generalizing the
popularly accepted generational characteristics to
diverse students; it suggests that, like any other
category of social classification, generational difference should be considered within the larger context
of social diversity, including race, class, and gender,
and geographical region. This paper critically
discusses specific strategies that educators, who are
working outside their comfort zones, can employ to
increase the effectiveness of the educational
experiences they facilitate for diverse millennial
students.
INTRODUCTION
Another important dimension of diversity,
generational difference, which encompasses
both age and cultural dimensions, has received
sporadic attention, depending on the perceived
differences between the generations. College
campuses are home to at least four generations,
with the majority of students belonging to
Generation Y, also known as the Millennials,
and faculty, staff and administrators largely
belonging to the older Generations, namely, X,
Baby Boomers, and GIs or Traditionalists,
(Oblinger, 2003). Members of one generation
are born within roughly the same twenty or so
year period; they have common and distinct
characteristics and world view, which can be
attributed to the social, cultural, financial,
technological, and political environments at
play during those formative years as young
ollege campuses, like the preKindergarten through Grade Twelve
(pre-K-12) arenas, are rapidly becoming
more diverse, especially in terms of students,
who represent “nearly every ethnic background
and ethnic background in the world”; students
of color constituting approximately 40 percent
of public K-12 school students, (U.S. Department of Education, 2005: p.16). Many
educators, community members, mass media
pundits, and politicians are discussing, researching, and even bemoaning the multicultural states of the education system. A
growing number of educators have discussed
the need for educating teachers to develop the
cultural awareness that is needed to success
C
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The Journal of Education and Social Justice
people develop core personalities, (Howe and
Strauss, 2000.) Inter-generational differences
have been observed as an essential diversity
area for higher education practitioners to pay
attention to. (Borges, Manuel, Elam, and Jones,
2010; Srauss and Howe, 2000).
P URPOSE
This paper discusses some ways educators may
utilize their knowledge of generational characteristics and differences to enhance their
teaching and intergenerational relationships
with Millennials. It cautions against overgeneralizing the popularly accepted generational characteristics to diverse students; it
suggests that, like any other category of social
classification, generational difference should
be considered within the larger context of
social diversity, including race, class, and
gender, and geographical region. This paper
critically discusses specific strategies that
educators, who are working outside their
comfort zones, can employ to increase the
effectiveness of the educational experiences
they facilitate for diverse Millennial students.
GENERATIONAL DIVERSITY
Generational diversity cannot be treated as an
exclusive dimension; it should be examined in
close connection with and within the context of
the other systems of social stratification,
including, but not limited to the ones
mentioned above. Additionally, because people
are constantly evolving, generational age
categories are not absolute. As Neil Howe’s
organization, Life Course Associates writes:
“People never “belong” to an age bracket.
Rather, they belong to a generation that
happens to be passing through an age
bracket— a generation with its own memories,
language, habits, beliefs, and life lessons,”
(http://www. lifecourse.com/mi/ insight/
phases. html). Therefore, in using “generation”
as a category of difference, educators should be
cautious not to over- generalize or use the
19
“mainstream” conceptions of generational
characteristics to determine their interactions
with all students.
Generational diversity has to be considered
within the context of the other major social
stratification systems prevalent in society. For
example, given the effects of segregation and
other separatist policies such as Apartheid in
pre-independent South Africa, the experiences
and worldviews of age-mates of different races
living within the same country can be quite
different. Even though they might share
memories of certain nationally significant
events in common, their perceptions of those
events may lead to different worldviews
altogether. In countries where income and
digital divides are wider, discrepancies to
access to timely and accurate news may cause
different groups to view the same event quite
differently. For instance, although the current
Millennials in South Africa ‘witnessed’ the
1994 Independence from the Apartheid regime,
the feelings and attitudes of most white
Afrikaner Millennials may be different from
those of their black counterparts; the former
might have viewed independence as the defeat
of their racial superiority, while the later are
likely to have viewed the same event as either
victory for all or as ushering liberation and
equality for the previously oppressed majority.
Similarly, the civil rights victories in the
United States, including the 1954 Brown v
Board victory for equal educational access,
might be viewed differently by same-age
people of different races and political persuasions. Such differing perceptions can bring
about different outlooks among people of the
same age “generation.”
As educators use generational differences to
inform their pedagogy, they need to keep in
mind both the intergenerational and intragenerational diversity. Blanketed categorizations of all students as the same technologically savvy Millennials may lead to the
maintenance of the status quo, where the norm
is based on white, middle class, Euro-centric
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The Journal of Education and Social Justice
views, which leaves many minority groups,
including females, working class Caucasian,
African American, Latino, Asian, Native
American, and international students behind. It
is essential to keep in mind that Millennials
who come from African American, southern,
working class backgrounds are likely to have
significant different experiences from their
white, northern, middle class college mates,
regardless of whether they all like rap or loud
music, for instance. Similarly, female
Millennials in urban schools are likely to have
different experiences from their counterparts in
rural schools. Moreover, students’ experiences
are also affected by the affluence, histories,
and cultures of their institutions; therefore,
students at Historically Black Colleges and
Universities (HBCUs), majority public
institutions, elite, private colleges or Ivy
League and top twenty institutions, for instance, may have different college experiences
that would warrant faculty to take into
consideration in their efforts to provide their
specific students with the most beneficial
educational experiences. Consequently, when
discussing the widely accepted generational
categorizations, educators ought to keep other
social factors of differentiation in mind.
COLLEGE GENERATIONAL PROFILE
Today’s schools and college campuses are
largely populated by members of at least three
generations, with the majority of faculty being
members, staff, and administrators belonging
to what are commonly known as the
Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, and Generation
X, while most students belong to Generation
Y, also known as the Millennial generation.
The median age of public school teachers is 44
years (US Department of Education 2005 p
18). Their students’ ages are typically between
six and seventeen. In the postsecondary sector,
the average age instructor is 48 years, (http://
chronicle.com/article/Economy-SlowsColleges/123636/). While the number of adult
and continuing education students is increasing, almost 60 percent of college students
are below the age of 23 and 17.3% are between
ages 24 and 29. Therefore, about 77% of
college students can be categorized as
Millennials (http://chronicle. com/article/WhoAre-the-Undergraduates-/123916/ 12/12/2010.
The multigenerational nature of colleges poses
both challenges and opportunities for teaching
and learning, (Baily, 2007). It should be noted
that these descriptions are not exclusive or
absolute; students, faculty, administrators, and
staff are found across all generations. With all
these generations interacting in the educational
arena, it is important to continually examine
ways of helping educators enhance the
development and maintenance of mutually
respectful and appreciative relationships with
each other..
O VERVIEW OF G ENERATIONAL
C HARACTERISTICS
Members of one generation typically share
some major characteristics, especially in the
areas of work ethic, motives, cognitive styles,
and personality. Their experiences are
shaped—albeit to varying degrees—by the
shared, influential, historical, social, economic,
and technological developments, prevalent
during their early years. In and effort to help
educators more fully appreciate the four
generations, general characteristics of the four
generations are summarized below.
THE SILENT GENERATION
Colleges host quite a diminishing, but,
significant number of members of the Silent
Generation, also known as Traditionalists;
most of them are professors emeritus, staff, or
administrators. However, because of the
national retirement age ranges, this generation
is the least represented in on both K-12 and
college and campuses. According to LifeCourse Associates, between 1925 and 1942,
and during the Great Depression, the Silent
Generation was born. They “grew up as the
seen-but-not-heard” children, when risk aver-
The Journal of Education and Social Justice
sion and “conformity seemed a sure ticket to
success,” (http://www.lifecourse.com/mi/in
sight/the-generational-constellation.html).
Gender and racial inequalities were prevalent.
Perhaps the later led to the evolution of the
sixties, when this generation, also known as
Traditionalists, “became America’s leading
civil rights activists, rock n’ rollers, antiwar
leaders, feminists, public interests lawyers and
mentors for [Boomer Generation] firebrands,”
http://www.lifecourse.com/mi/insight/thegenerational-constellation.html. As politicians,
they called for inclusion and fairness. Martin
Luther King, Collin Powell, Maya Angelou,
Elvis Pressley, Ted Kennedy are examples of
popular American Traditionalists. Their conventionalism and civic engagement, and love
for social justice are characteristics that may be
useful in mentoring the Millennials. Due to the
scarcity of technological development during
most of their early years, Traditionalists are the
least technologically savvy of the four
generations found in colleges. Being mostly on
their way out, many may not be motivated to
learn new educational technologies; thus they
may find the technology—related demands of
the academy rather frustrating.
THE BABY BOOMER GENERATION
Roughly between 1943 and 1960 came the
generation commonly known as the Baby
Boomers, who “grew up as indulged youth
during the post World War II era of
community-spirited progress,” (LifeCourse
Associates http://www.lifecourse.com/mi/
insight/the-generational-constellation.html.)
Unlike their institutionally and civically
focused parents, Baby Boomers were individualistic, perfectionists, who were rebellious,
risk-taking, and not very academically focused,
as it was during their times when SAT scores
began to decline. Their politics were rather
divisive; George Bush, Bill and Hillary
Clinton, bell hooks, Cornel West, Patricia Hill
Collins, Michael Eric Dyson, Michael Jackson,
Bill Gates, and Alice Walker. Women fought
for equality in the workplace as they strove to
21
crash the “glass ceiling.” Boomers “developed
very close individual relationships with their
children, to the point of hovering,” (LifeCourse
Associates, http://www.lifecourse.com/mi/ in
sight/the-generational-constellation.html. Due
to the unfavorable economic climate prevailing
during a significant period of their lives, most
Boomers are staying longer in the workplace
than they had anticipated; therefore, they are
inclined to be more open to learning new skills,
including technology, than the Traditionalists.
However, staying comfortable and within their
comfort zones, both Boomers and their Traditionalist colleagues have a strong preference
for traditional lecture formats and tend to be
skeptical of the rigor and worth of technologically enhanced education. Some of them,
also mostly tenured, full or associate professors, or top administrators, can hardly navigate
the Internet, are uncomfortable using E-mail,
and do not even attempt utilizing course management systems such as Blackboard, WebCT,
D2L, MOODLE or Sakai, for their classes
(http://chronicle.com/ article/Professors-Useof/123682/; Junco & Mastrodicasa, 2007).
Given the number of working years left for a
significant number of them, it is advisable that
they get some basic training in using course
management systems in order for them to stay
current with the Millennials who will continue
to fill their classrooms till most retire. Further,
because together with Generation X, they form
the largest contingent of college faculty, staff,
and administrators, it is only fair to the
students for this group to learn more about the
generation of students they have to educate.
GENERATION X
The second largest group of college faculty
members belongs to Generation X, those born
roughly between 1961 and 1981. Members of
Generation X are generally perceived as selfcentered, self-driven, independent, entrepreneurial, multicultural, and pragmatic. Being
largely skeptical, Gen Xers neither trust nor
like authority and rigid rules, (Lancaster and
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The Journal of Education and Social Justice
Stillman, 2003). They are quite different from
the Millennials, who value rules and structure,
as well as respect authority. Members of this
generation include, Stephen Colbert, Michelle
Obama, Jay Z, and Michelle Rhee. This generation is the more technologically adept than
the other two generations of faculty, staff and
administrators; because of the relatively long
years they still face in the workplace, the
majority of them are open to learning more
ways of enhancing their technological skills.
However, as highly independent individuals,
they might face challenges as they attempt to
accommodate the Millennials’ parental
dependency and high needs for peer connectedness and nurturing, for example.
These three older generations of educators
have one major goal in common; they have to
effectively interact with the Millennials they
are employed to teach. Therefore, even if they
are quite different in some regards, they need
to sharpen their intergenerational
communication skills, given the pivotal role of
effective interpersonal communication in
teaching. In order for Baby Boomers and
Generations X educators to improve their
success as they work outside their comfort
zones, they need to pay attention to the general
characteristics of millennial students.
C HARACTERISTICS OF TODAY’S
COLLEGE STUDENTS ( GENERATION
Y/MILLENNIALS)
Most traditional college students belong to the
generation commonly known as the Millennial
Generation or Generation Y, those born
between roughly between 1981 and 1999. The
exactness of the years they were born is not as
important as the fact that they were born in the
same general historical epoch, and generally
share many historical, technological, and social
aspects. Generation Yers are considered to be
close to their parents and peers, achievementoriented, and technologically inclined. The
extent to which these characteristics apply vary
in from one social group to another, and
generational theory, like most other social
theories, should only be used as a guide.
Consequently, as educators consider generational characteristics, they should keep in mind
other diversity factors that might lead certain
students behave in very different ways from
their peers.
Millennials are known for their close relationships with, and reliance on their parents or
guardians. According to Kane (2009), approximately seventy–five million members of this
generation are being raised at the most childcentric time in recent history in the United
States. Strauss and Howe (2000) describe this
generation as the “most cared-for generation in
American history,” (p. 76). Their parents generally provide them abundant support, in
accordance to their socio-economic statuses
and other life circumstances; this support may
be in the form of emotional, social, financial,
technological, or educational support. It is not
uncommon to hear parents (mostly Generation
X) say that they have to rush home to help their
adult college students complete class projects
or assignments. Moreover, many would agree
that this generation of college students is
largely being reared by the contingent of
parents infamously known as the ‘helicopter
parents’; these parents operate as if they are
“on call” for their children, as they are readily
available to intervene for their children,
irrespective of whether they have been invited
to help or not. Educational institutions are
notorious for their particular disdain of such
parents, whom they accuse of interfering in
their professional activities and spoiling their
children so much that they hinder them from
timely developing into mature students who
can operate independently of their parents. As
Thielfoldt, & Scheef, (2004), observe, the
abundant attention showered to the by their
parents is probably responsible for their
elevated self-confidence, which sometimes
makes them look and act arrogantly. However,
because they value their parents and embrace
The Journal of Education and Social Justice
their teachings and social values, Millennials
are more inclined to be conventional. They work
well in structured environments, with defined
rules and regulations, which makes it easier for
educators to work with this less rebellious
group of students. Therefore, educators need to
keep this need for parental support and
guidance as well as a positive acceptance of
structure and authority in mind as they interact
with Generation Y students.
There is general consensus among educators
that current students use technology more than
the preceding generations. Research shows that
this generation is generally characterized by
technological dexterity, an increased social
networking, and a familiarity with multiple
media, the World Wide Web, and digital
technologies (Strauss and Howe (2000); Boggs
and Szabo, 2011; Bell, 2010). Generation Y
was born and has grown up during perhaps the
greatest technological advancements of all
times; especially as regards abundant computer
and television access, electronic and mobile
phone communication, instant messaging,
internet publishing (eg. U-Tube) and social
networking (e.g. Facebook, My Space, and
Twitter). Some members of this generation
include, Mark Zuckerberg. A world without
computers is unimaginable to the majority of
US students, regardless of their own personal
situations as regards computer ownership and
affordability. This may be help explain why
this group is generally considered as technologically inclined, peer- and friend-oriented
and influenced, and collaborative, (Straus and
Howe, 2000; and Twenge, 2006.)
Millennials also have different motivations
from their parental generation, Generation X,
in addition to other differences. Reporting on
their empirical study of medical students,
Borges, Manuel, Elam and Jones, write: “our
study findings may substantiate the contentions
of population theorists that, compared with
previous generations, Millennials have greater
needs to belong to social groups and to share
23
with others, stronger team instincts and tighter
peer bonds, and greater needs to achieve and
succeed” (p. 574). Generation Yers, a significant number of whom have a Facebook or MY
Space page, cherish friendships and seem to be
strongly influenced by the opinions of their
peers. Combining such needs for social
affiliation and the achievement drive could
result in what has been described as one of the
greatest generations ever, and a generation of
heroes, (Strauss and Howe, 2000.)
Like any social group, Millennials are not a
homogeneous group, with minority groups
constituting 40%, while immigrants comprise
20% of the generation, (Baggott, p.30.) Their
experiences and characteristics tend to differ
along the lines of race, ethnicity, class, gender,
sexuality, geographical region, national origin,
mental and physical ability, intellectual
classification, familial situation, and technological access. There are many students who
do not enjoy the positive and / or abundant
parental attention that has been observed of
many of the middle class Millennials observed
and studied by many educators. Similarly,
there is a significant number that do not have
the access to technology that Millennials are
generally assumed to have. These may include
students who come from working class and
poor backgrounds, and cannot afford computers, mobile phones or I Pads; those raised in
working class one-parent families— where the
parent is too busy juggling multiple jobs to
even attend school meetings or take them to
public libraries during the pre-college period;
students who come from abusive homes—
where the parental figures exhibit negative,
authoritarian, and other abusive tend
encies; and, those students who have to work
to augment household incomes or to survive.
Intra-group differences exist within each generation; therefore, each of the general characteristics mentioned here should be
considered only as a guide, and not a definitive
factor.
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The Journal of Education and Social Justice
STRATEGIES FOR THE INTERGENERATIONALLY COMPETENT EDUCATOR
Students need educational experiences that
enable them to become valued, equal, and
responsible members of society. Any teacher
charged with teaching students outside his or
her culture therefore, “. . . not only has to help
students acquire the knowledge, skills, and
dispositions necessary for effective citizenry,
but must also to develop a cultural awareness
that permits such fulfillment (Neil, 2005). It is
widely accepted that educators’ skills, dispositions, and knowledge play a major role in
students’ success. Especially where students
have different cultural backgrounds from those
of their teachers, positive cultural
competencies are crucial to learning and
achievement. The converse is true; teachers’
cultural limitations and incompetence, together
with the lack of skills to work with, and
unfavorable attitudes toward students outside
their own cultures, including outside their
generations, may be largely responsible for the
poor academic achievement that educators,
politicians, and the general public lament so
much. It is even more so for those teachers
who perceive difference as deficiency operate
from a “deficiency orientation,” who view
students from different cultures, as lacking
those characteristics, knowledge, and aptitudes
that are needed for success in what the
mainstream academic culture, (Sleeter &Grant
2009). Such views are not conducive to the
learning of all students, especially those from
different racial, gender, religious, linguistic,
sexual orientation, and generations. Therefore,
because the majority of college students belong
to a generation that is different from that of the
majority of faculty, it is imperative that, in
their quest to enhance student achievement,
educators familiarize themselves with the
overall culture of Generation Y students.
McAllister cautions against radically changing
proven best practices in our effort to fully
embrace the Millennials. She writes: “While
pedagogues can certainly make the learning
process more in line with generational characteristics, not all of their traits are conducive to
learning, (p15). Therefore, educators should
feel comfortable helping students mitigate
some of their generational behaviors for the
sake of maximizing learning outcomes. The
section below critically discuses some of the
common Millennial characteristics may inform
educators as they plan significant experiences
for the students. The characteristics examined
are: their familiarity with technology, peerorientation, the ability to multitask, their needs
for nurturing and structure as well as how their
high confidence levels affect their educational
experiences.
TECHNOLOGICAL INCLINATIONS AND
APPLICATIONS TO LEARNING
Millennials are widely considered the most
technologically familiar of all the generations,
having been born at a very technologically
fertile period. In a survey of faculty use of
technology conducted with 4,600 faculty
members at 50 colleges and universities, the
2009 Faculty Survey of Student Engagement
found that 20% admitted never using course
management systems such as Blackboard or
Desire 2 Learn (D2L), while over 70% said
they never used technology for the following:
“Plagiarism detection” (e.g. Turnitin); (79%)
Collaborative Editing Software (e.g. Wikis and
Google Docs); (84%) Blogs; or Video games,
simulations, or virtual worlds (e.g Ayiti,
EleMental, Second Life, Civilization, etc),
among other uses. http://chronicle.com/ article/
Professors-Use-of/123682/ July 25, 2010.
Consequently, differing attitudes and aptitudes
toward educational technology are among the
most contentious of differences that exist
among the Millennials and their older
generation educators. According to the US
Department of Education:
W hile technology in schools has become
common, several related challenges have
presented themselves. These challenges include
providing adequate training to teachers on how
to effectively integrate technology into the
The Journal of Education and Social Justice
curriculum and ensuring that benefits of
educational technology are available to students
of all socioeconomic backgrounds.” (2005 p.
17)
The most obvious challenge is the one identified by the US Department of Education in the
statement above—training teachers to effectively utilize technology to enhance students’
learning. Some teachers are resistant to
learning ‘new and ever-changing technologies’, mainly because they think that by
the time they have mastered one skill, the
technological application may have become
defunct, and it would be time for them to learn
something new. They also believe that having
taught successfully for many years without
using new technological enhancements, there
is no valid reason for them to change. Others
may feel that if the students were not so technologically inclined, teachers would not have
to be “bothered” with the requirements to learn
new technology, including simple educational
tools such as Blackboard or even E-mail, in
some cases. Therefore, such anxieties, fears
and misgivings about technology can create
tensions between teachers and their technologically savvy students.
As mentioned earlier, the Millennials are also
commonly referred to as the Tech Generation
because of their easiness with technology; they
also earn this nickname because of what many
in their teachers’ and parents’ generations
consider excessive use of mostly electronic
devices. Needless to say, most of these
students do not believe that they are being
excessive in their use of mobile phones,
Blackberries, I Phones, I Pods, I Pads, video
games, laptops, and other electronic gadgets.
Therefore, when politely cautioned on the
subject, depending on their inclinations and
relationships some might get defensive or even
offensive in their responses. Some do not
believe they should have to take a break from
social networking, simply because they are in
some instructor’s class! After all, they argue,
they are great multi-taskers and can learn while
25
surfing the net or texting. Consequently,
teachers might find it hard to successfully
educate them about appropriateness of using
their technological devices, especially for
personal, non-educational purposes, in class,
for instance.
The challenges above notwithstanding, there
are significant students and schools that do not
have adequate access to technology, mainly
because of their socioeconomic statuses.
Students in undeserved rural and urban areas,
most of whom are minority students, do not
have easy access to technology; some cannot
even afford mobile phones, which a significant
number of their peers take for granted.
Consequently, faculty need to be careful not to
overestimate and generalize their students’
levels of familiarity and adeptness with
technological applications, including the ability
to effectively search for information on the
Internet, to operate E-mail, and to navigate
educational resources such as Blackboard or
Desire 2 Learn (D2L).
Similarly, faculty should not assume that all
students have access to laptops or computers at
home. It might behoove faculty to offer or
arrange basic training for those technological
applications they most use in their classes; this
is especially essential for those teaching
diverse and minority students or those teaching
at non-elite schools, where the overwhelming
majority receive need-based financial aid, and
are negatively affected by the digital divide. It
is also essential to realize that while many
students use Information Communication
Technology (ICT) for communication, leisure,
and other social activities, a good number of
them find it difficult to transfer those skills to
educational technology. In their discussion of
using media literacy, to teach Millennials
reading and writing, Considine, Horton,
Moorman (2009) observed: “Their extensive
use of ICT often creates a false sense of
competency, as well as the misperception
among many adults that contemporary youth
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The Journal of Education and Social Justice
are “media savvy.” Hands on is not the same as
heads on, (p. 172). In our classes, with predominantly working class, southern, African
American students, the majority of which are
technology enhanced, many students initially
complain about being asked to use basic educational technology resources such as
Blackboard, MOODLE or D2L, in their classes. Many say that they have never had to use
so much technology for learning before; they
also admit that and that it is a very difficult
leap to make from social networking to
submitting assignments and viewing instructor
feedback in Turnitin! Therefore, educational
technology training might be well received if it
is offered to all students, as a component of the
early semester classes; in an effort to minimize
the complaints from those who are tech savvy,
trainers could allow students to peer-tutor each
other or to gain points for the experience.
Students should also be helped to understand
that they cannot know everything that is there
to be known about technology, or any other
topic; educators need to help Generation Y
students develop a stronger willingness to
learn.
Rewards are especially important to this
generation, given that many of them believe
they should earn something for their effort.
Strauss and Howe (2000) argue that Millennials are externally motivated. This might
appear a contradiction, given the amount of
community service in which this generation
generally engages. Close scrutiny of this
service may indicate that a significant amount
might be motivated by external rewards such
as class credit, social recognition, resume
boosting, future career intentions, and networking. Moreover, such thinking seems to
support some observations about the possible
effects of being brought up by Generation X
parents. Strauss and Howe (2000) argue that
given their upbringing by generally very hardworking parents, Millennials are very focused
on building their resumes early and getting a
head start on preparing for their careers.
PEER-ORIENTATION AND COLLABORATION
Millennials are typically team-oriented, work
well in groups, prefer collaborative activities to
individual endeavors. They generally enjoy
well defined group assignments and projects,
which many generally execute better than they
do individual assignments. Along these lines,
Borges, et.al. (2010) write: “Faculty members
may motivate their Millennial students to learn
by using group activities where they can apply
course content and learn by doing, providing
students with relationship-building
opportunities in the classroom or online that
contribute to collaboration and teamwork,” (p.
274). Therefore, faculty and students are
generally well-served by such assignments as
they help students develop those socialtechnological skills that they already have for
educational purposes. Further, group assignments need to be structured as monitored for
maximum effectiveness. Wilson and Gerber
(2008) suggest that while faculty ought to
provide students opportunities to work in small
teams, they should be vigilant in training
students to work ethically, and they “must
protect conscientious students from both freeloaders and enthusiastic but simply incompetent team members,” (p. 34). Having said
that, faculty should guard against assuming
that all students will enjoy or benefit from
working in a groups; they should balance
group with individual assignments so that the
course assessments are carefully distributed.
MULTI-TASKING AND LEARNING
EFFECTIVENESS
They’re good multi-taskers, not only are they
able to simultaneously text, talk, surf the net,
listen to music and do their homework, they
can also juggle sports, school, and social
interests, (McAlister, A.(2009); Strauss and
Howe, 2000). This agility can help students
work on several assignments within the same
period. This makes it more beneficial for
faculty to give them information about all course
The Journal of Education and Social Justice
assignments at the beginning of the semester.
In an effort to avoid overwhelming them and to
help them budget their time effectively, faculty
may consider breaking longer writing or
project—based assignments into smaller tasks,
with specific timelines to turn in drafts for
formative evaluation and feedback. While
multitasking may present advantages for the
learner, it is also worth noting that studies
show that multitasking may have negative
effects on learning, especially on long term
memory, and may slow down the learning
process, (McAlister, 2009). Therefore,
educators need to help their students
understand that technology use in the
classroom or during study should be generally
limited to that which supports the learning task
at hand. While this might seem to be “common
sense” to their older generation teachers,
Millennials need to be taught the art of
maximizing learning time and activities,
including using their multitasking skills to
enhance learning.
NEED FOR NURTURING AND MENTORING
Millennials, regardless of their intellectual
abilities and self confidence levels, generally
value mentoring, nurturing, and personal
attention. Just as they value very strong
relationships with their parents whom they
look to for extensive support and nurturing,
Millennials desire good relationships with their
teachers, (Oblinger, 2003). They expect their
teachers and advisors to mentor them - both in
their academic and personal endeavors. For
many, mentoring and nurturing help make
them feel more welcome and valued, as well as
more connected to their teachers, which is
likely to yield positive results for them. While
their grandparents’generation of educators—
the Baby Boomers—are more inclined to
provide nurturing to them, these expectations
do not always match up with the characteristics
of their highly independent, Gen Xers, who
respect strict boundaries, and are less inclined
to nurture students who are not their own
offspring. Nevertheless, educators could
27
benefit from engaging in genuine dialogue
about their reservations, and seeking to
understand the nurturing needs of Millennials.
Faculty self-disclosure may result in students
developing more empathy with those teachers
who do not feel comfortable providing students
non-academic or non-course related mentoring.
Further, frank conversations will also help
educators identify those students whose
cultural, religious, or familial upbringing does
not support the formation of close relationships
with adults to whom they are not related. In
other words, educators should be careful not to
assume that all students need mentoring and
closeness from their teachers. Considering the
Millennials’ needs for mentoring and nurturing
within the contexts of other dimensions of
diversity may help empower educators boost
their rapport with this generation of students,
while simultaneously helping the students
increase their overall educational experiences.
NEED FOR STRUCTURE AND CURRICULUM
CLARITY
Millennials learn better if faculty members
provide clear objectives, explain relevance of
lessons to the expected student outcomes, and
provide details for assignment completion, and
weekly schedules. Borges, et.al., (2010) found,
“Achievement-oriented Millennial students . .
. also expect that faculty clearly specify educational goals and desired learning outcomes,
(274). This may be based on their formative,
public school educational experiences, which
were characterized by having their teachers
post learning outcomes for each module, give
frequent tests, use pacing guides, and provide
syllabi copies on the first day of class to
students and sometime to parents, too, (Wilson
and Gerber, 2008). These authors also found
that “college students do not function well in
courses with loosely organized, schematic
syllabi” (p.32.) Generation Y students need to
know the exact objective of each class and how
each lesson relates to the assignments and
tests; they generally learn with the end goal
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The Journal of Education and Social Justice
(course grades) in mind and, unlike their older
generation teachers, they do not generally
appreciate ‘learning for learning’s sake.’
Therefore, course syllabi have to be explicit
and detailed especially as regards what, when,
and how, assignments should be completed,
and how much weight they carry in the final
grading scheme, (Wilson and Gerber, 2008).
Similarly, assessment and feedback should be
very explicit and transparent. Borges et.al.
(2010) argue that Millennials “may express a
strong need for feedback to monitor their
progress and accomplishment,” (p. 274.)
Using electronic grade centers such as those
found in Blackboard or D2L provide easier
ways for faculty to share their feedback with
students. Additionally, to cater to both their
need for caring adults and for feedback, faculty
should provide Millenials with what Fink
(2003), in his discussion of significant learning
experiences calls ‘FIDeLity’: i.e. feedback that
is ‘frequent, immediate, discriminating feedback that is] done lovingly” Fink (p. 95.)
Showing that faculty care for their progress is
essential for developing positive relationships
with students; this seems to give credence to
the popularly cited expression, “No one cares
what you know until they know that you care”1
and its other variations. Providing Millennials
ongoing feedback on drafts, class participation,
and other components of the learning experience will help them improve their performance.
The challenge for faculty is to achieve this
level of detail without producing ‘lengthy’
syllabi, given their general lack of strong
affinity to reading long pieces. Wilson and
Gerber, (2008) suggest that instructors
deliberately over-estimate the desire of
students for clarity—and resist the temptation
to regard those students as somehow deficient
in character for the fervency of such a desire,”
(p. 32.) Faculty may decide to provide
periodic, detailed weekly schedules, samples,
rubrics, grading schemes, especially via
technological vehicles such as email or Blackboard/ MOODLE/D2L, and others. Because of
the Millennials need for structure,
predictability, and strict guidelines, it might be
necessary to highlight a clause to the effect that
syllabus details will be provided every so often
via a specified vehicle. Therefore, structure,
explicitness, consistency, and full transparency
help this busy, overworked, and highly
achievement-oriented generation of students
understand what is required of them so that
they may plan effectively, both mentally and
emotionally, as well as manage their time
accordingly, (Strauss and Howe, 2000; Wilson
and Gerber, 2008.)
OVERCONFIDENCE AND ITS INFLUENCE ON
RESEARCH AND WRITING
One of the more pervasive characteristics of
Millennials is that they are very self-confident.
These students are very sure of themselves and
they believe their voices should be heard, and
their opinions should carry a significant
amount of weight. They are “self assured gogetters” (Wilson and Gerber, p. 31.) who can
sometimes appear “cocky”, Thielfoldt, &
Scheef, (2004). This over-confidence may lead
some students to believe that their personal
opinions constitute facts, and that their
personal experiences are more valid than
proven best practices and academic research
and theory. Perhaps also because of their
strong love for their parents, Millennials also
believe that their own personal sources of
information, e.g. parents, pastors, mentors,
blogs, and popular media, are the only ones
they should consult, even for academic writing.
Moreover, their over-exposure and reliance on
technology might be partially responsible for
their insistence that they earn grades by merely
voicing their unsubstantiated personal opinions
and non-academic sources in “research
The Journal of Education and Social Justice
papers.” Therefore, they may argue against
most faculty’s insistence on students reading
and conducting research for course
assignments. We suggest that educators
demonstrate that they value students’ opinions
by providing them opportunities for reflective
and commentary type of assignments; blogs
and discussion boards provide good
opportunities for such activities. Additionally,
faculty need to systematically help students
reach a healthy balance of supporting their
personal opinions with research in their
academic writing. Moreover, students should
also be trained to differentiate between
opinion-based and research-based papers;
faculty can achieve this by developing diverse
assignments that allow students to engage in
both forms of writing.
In order to train them for sophisticated critical
thinking and literacies, faculty should also
make deliberate efforts to help their students
understand the value of the opinions of others,
especially those that differ or contradict theirs.
This step will help teachers infuse diversity
training in their lessons, but will help them
transition into lessons about the significance of
well-researched expert opinions that are based
on rigorous research. Such teaching will be
even more beneficial if faculty intentionally
teach students anti-plagiarism skills and other
important issues about academic honesty.
Gerber and Wilson (2008 suggest that faculty
“engage students in a significant, course-long
conversation on the ethical dimensions of
taking a college course,” (p.32.) Capitalizing
on the high self-confidence levels of Millennials, educators can provide genuine, credit
earning opportunities for students to engage in
opinion sharing as well as those that train them
the rigor required in academic writing.
C ONCLUSION
Generational differences call for a new
paradigm of teacher education. Traditional,
pre-service, and in-service teacher education
29
programs ought to systematically infuse the
important components of inter-generational
competency into their diversity courses and
programs. Just as they would do in relation to
other diversity factors, teachers need to
develop deeper insights into the general
characteristics of Millennials, including, their
preferred learning styles, skills’ strengths, their
inter-personal communication styles, work
ethics, and habits, and their general worldview,
(Boggs and Szabo, 2011). Such multigenerational competencies call for the development of instructional strategies that bring about
transformational, inclusive learning that can
empower students to become more successful
in their educational endeavors, (Freire, 2010;
Banks, 1997; Sleeter and Grant, 1999;
Anderson, 1988). Therefore, schools need to
fully utilize their entire intellectual capital,
including their students’ “knowledge, skills,
capabilities, competencies . . . practices, and
routines,” (Hargreaves, 2003 p. 7) in order to
transform the experiences of their students and
effectiveness of the educators.
At the center of all the reforms that should take
place in both pre-and in-service education are
mutual respect, appreciation for generational
differences, strengths, challenges, and worldviews. Good relationships between students
and teachers are a good predictor of academic
success; conversely, poor relationships
between teachers and students are among the
most significant contributors to the poor
academic outcomes faced by many schools.
Therefore, teachers who understand their
students are better positioned to help them
maximize their talents, competencies, skills
and work ethic for academic achievement,
(Oblinger, 2003, MaAlister, 2009.)
Consequently, it is essential that educators
continue to strive to develop the healthy
rapport that exudes the positivity needed to
help students learn, and turn schools into
welcoming, socially just, environments for all,
(Baily, 2009; Freire, 2010). Successful multigenerational education requires faculty to
embrace diversity and help their students do
30
The Journal of Education and Social Justice
the same, developing a willingness to learn
about and from the younger generation and to
correct misconceptions and stereotypes about
different social groups. As Paulo Freire says,
education can either be used to train students
for conformity and status quo maintenance, or
it can be used as a liberatory practice that leads
to freedom, creativity, and transformation for
social justice. Teaching students for twentyfirst century challenges requires educators to
continually re-evaluate their pedagogy to help
them better meet the needs of their millennial
student. Contextualized generational theory
offers an additional framework for examining
ways of helping different generations of
educators and students enhance their teaching
and learning experiences.
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